The EU Commission accepts, subject to remedies, a takeover of a company in the electricity sector (EDF / British Energy)

European Commission, EDF / British Energy, COMP/M.5224, 22 December 2008

I. Introduction
On 24 September 2008, following ongoing talks with British Energy, EdF announced that it had agreed a takeover of the company for the sum of £12.5 billion. On 3 November 2008, given that the transaction had a Community dimension within the meaning of the Merger Regulation, EdF notified to the Commission its intention to take sole control of the company, having made a public offer to purchase its entire issued share capital.
The parties’ activities would overlap in several areas of the British electricity markets. The deal would also strengthen the vertical integration of the combined post-merger entity. On examination, it was found that even though the combined shares of the two companies were not extremely high, there were some aspects of concern specific to the

Quotation

Raphaël De Coninck, Polyvios Panayides, Miriam Driessen-Reilly, The EU Commission accepts, subject to remedies, a takeover of a company in the electricity sector (EDF / British Energy),
22 December 2008,
e-Competitions Bulletin December 2008, Art. N° 76547